U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,811 (1986) to McMills is assigned to Raychem Corporation. Raychem sells the '811 coaxial cable assembly in both an RG59 and an RG6 embodiment. The RG59 has a female connecting collar that is generally 7/16" hexagonal width and 9/16" length. The cable OD is approximately 3/16". The RG6 embodiment has a female connecting collar that is generally 7/16" hexagonal width and 11/16" length. The cable OD is approximately 4/16".
The coaxial cables for the RG59 and RG6 connectors have a center conductor surrounded by a dielectric layer. The dielectric layer is surrounded with conductive shielding. The conductive shielding is surrounded by a protective outer jacket which environmentally seals the connection between an end coupling and the cable. It is critical for proper operation and maintainability of the coaxial cable that the connection between the end coupling and the cable be environmentally and electrically sealed.
The '811 patent teaches the use of a coupling assembly for attachment to the end of a length of coaxial cable. The assembly consists of the outer female connecting collar noted above. Inside the outer female connecting collar is an end coupling shaped like a cylinder having an open end for surrounding the cable, and a closed end having an opening for the cable dielectric and center conductor.
The preferred method for affixing a coupling assembly to a cable end is to use a cable end compressor tool. The function of the cable end compressor tool is to compress the cable end into the end coupling quickly with one squeeze of the tool handle.
The cable end compressor tool must have one fixed end to support the female connecting collar. A plunger is forced by the handle onto the partially closed end of the end coupling, thereby compressing the end coupling over a compressible member and against the cable end.
As noted above, the RG59 and RG6 cables have different length female connecting collars. Therefore, the distance from the fixed end of the tool to the plunger must be varied in accordance with the appropriate RG59, RG6 etc. female connecting collar in order to maintain the proper one handed squeezing grip on the tool's handle.
It is possible for a cable installer, therefore, to purchase two separate cable end compressor tools. One tool sized for the RG59, and one tool sized for the RG6 cable. This is an expensive solution.
Another solution is to use a Cablematic or compression tool. The Ripley Company of Cromwell, Conn. manufactures the Cablematic.RTM. device. The Ben Hughes Communicating Products Company of Chester, Conn. manufacturers the Cable Prep device. These tools are suitable for compressing both RG59 and RG6 cable ends. However, a bolt must be loosened, and then an end plate rotated, and then the bolt re-tightened when switching from the RG59 to the RG6 cable. These are time consuming steps. Furthermore, a special calibrating gauge is required to set the proper tolerances.
The present invention features a hinged spacer which can be flipped out of the way when compressing the larger RG6 cable. The hinged spacer can be flipped up against the fixed end of the compressor tool, thereby accommodating the shorter RG59 female connecting collar. Additionally, the RG6 connector body itself is used as the calibration device, thereby eliminating the need for a separate calibrating gauge.
In summary, the present invention solves the problem of providing a single cable end compressor tool capable of handling both RG59 and RG6 cables. The present invention converts quickly from RG59 to RG6 by utilizing a hinged spacer. The present invention eliminates the need for disassembly and re-assembly of a cable end compressor tool for handling various cables. The present invention also eliminates the need for a separate calibration device.